For strategy and fantasy fans alike, Skygard Arena is a familiar but fun exercise in the strategy game space. Developed by Gemelli Games, the tactical strategy title is quick to pick up but hard to master, with three-party teams sent up against a variety of different enemy types and mission objectives. For this style of game, a unique edge is the key to separating it from other competitors in the field.
While the fundamentals might be familiar to fans of strategy games, Skygard Arena takes enough fun liberties with the standard approach to the genre to stand out — even if the overall length leaves something to be desired. Surprisingly challenging and effortlessly charming thanks to strong character design and voice work, Skygard Arena is a pleasant entry in the tactical genre and easy to recommend for newbies and veterans alike.
Rating: 4/5
Skygard Arena’s Gameplay Is Simple But Glorious
Skygard Arena is a tight little tactical strategy game that does enough interesting things with the format to stand out. Set in a fantastical world where five factions compete within an annual tournament that dictates the future of the realm, Skygard Arena‘s storyline steadily introduces players to ten distinct playable characters as an early victory in the tournament leads to a grander conflict.
The turn-based strategy game forces players to recruit three heroes on missions across the realm, capturing specific points on the map while dealing with enemy forces. With a turn-based approach that feels like a mix of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, players traverse maps, capture beacons, collect energy orbs, and fight against their opponents in a race to earn enough points to win the battle. Like the best tactical games, Skygard Arena is easy to learn but hard to master, giving players plenty of reason to keep going.
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Each character gradually unlocks new combat styles and weapon loadouts, allowing for a certain amount of customization in combat. A mix of attacks, movement, and secondary spells makes each character uniquely dangerous in battle, and encourages invention and experimentation in loadouts. The most intriguing element of the game is the surprising depth of the AI bots, which present a compelling challenge as the story mode progresses.
While the somewhat limited number of playable characters can lead to some repetition, the customizable elements present players with lots of little ways to tweak the combat to their preferred gameplay style. With the game’s fairly liberal focus on character respawns, there’s a natural desire to push the boundaries of the warriors and test their might. This lends itself to the game’s overall replayability, and that’s before players even reach the multiplayer modes where ranked play highlights the more impressive combatants from around the world.
Pulling Classics From The Fantasy Playbook
The story mode and art design of Skygard Arena bear more than a few resemblances to other titles, most notably the MOBA League of Legends. That’s not necessarily a complaint, as Skygard Arena brings enough of its own unique flavor and texture to the title to help it stand out. The five kingdoms, including the Elven and Dwarven alliance of Katia as well as the nomadic Clouds Clan and zealtroy motives of the Silver Empire, all come with their own entertaining core elements, with the playable characters quickly establishing their more memorable elements through interactions and story cinematics.
The single-player campaign consists of thirteen missions, with twenty-six side quests presenting new challenges and offering special rewards for their successful completion. It’s a relatively straightforward strategy gaming experience that has a surprisingly difficult learning curve, especially once the nominal tournament is completed and players find themselves confronting new champions from across the realm.
Luckily, Skygard Arena‘s focus on different approaches and team compositions helps keep the title from ever feeling too samey. The plot is charming, and the characters are memorable, with some short Baldur’s Gate 3-style campsite visits offering more insight into the characters and their world. It makes for a charming experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome, even if it leaves a little to be desired in terms of raw originality and overall length.
Easy To Pick Up But Hard To Put Down
There are deeper and more complex strategy games than Skygard Arena, but it’s hard to keep yourself from falling back into the title. Amid a number of other reviews, this writer kept finding himself returning to the arena for another attempt at a particularly difficult side mission or online match. It’s entertaining and light, easy to pick up but hard to stay away from. The familiar elements of it don’t keep the story and characters from finding their own unique tenor and style.
The biggest knock against the game is the somewhat limited single-player campaign, which can be completed fairly quickly. However, the inclusion of side missions and the focus on multiplayer battles add depth to the experience. Skygard Arena is the ideal strategy game to give to newbies to win them over on the genre, and long-term strategy enthusiasts will find plenty to enjoy about it. While it might not have the most depth in the world, Skygard Arena has proven to be an effective entry to an underserved genre.
A Steam code for Skygard Arena was provided to Comicbook.com for the purposes of this review.
